At ForeignPolicy.com, Blake’s been doing some research into the standard media assumption that China is Burma’s biggest trading partner. While China is indeed the main provider of Burma’s imports, it turns out that it’s the destination for just 5.3 per cent of the exports coming out of Burma. So what’s the number one export destination? Thailand – for no less than 49 per cent of Burmese exports. Blake concludes:
Bottom line: Be very skeptical when reading accounts of how China, or any country, can put meaningful pressure on the junta.
